Saturday:) Sunshine, Inspiration and Determination

“If you set goals and go after them with all the determination you can muster, your gifts will take you places that will amaze you.”

Les Brown

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Wow! It was beautiful sunny Saturday. I spent over a couple of hours listening to Day 5 of the Tony Robbins Ultimate Breakthrough. I took notes and did a lot of learning. It was getting late by the time I was done, so I put on my walking shoes before dark. It’s good thinking time.

One of the many things I’ve learned or confirmed is determination. I’ve been walking just about every day for over 30 years. It could be cold, hot, snowing or raining, and I’m out there. It’s called determination.

From my Tony Robbins podcast… “Set a goal, commit to follow through, then schedule it.” When I went for my walk, I walked out the door and noticed a lot of leaves and little acorns in the grass. I’ve told myself for weeks that I should rake and sweep them up. So today, I set a goal, committed, then scheduled the clean up as soon as I got back from my walk.

I walked around the pond several times, and pushed myself to get at least 4,000 steps. Done!

As soon as I got home, I put on my work gloves and I raked up and swept up a couple of piles of yucky little leaves and tiny acorns. I even did a little raking on the neighbors lawn. I felt accomplished. The bonus was, I even got a few extra steps in. Win-win.

Another one of my favorite quotes that really impressed me today is…”The secret to living is giving.”

You’re never too old to learn, dream, believe, and achieve. My words. Words to live by.

Happy Saturday!

Wednesday Words of Wisdom: Inspiration

“Learn and grow all you can; serve and befriend all you can; enrich and inspire all you can.”~ William Arthur Ward

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The greatest honor one can receive is to be told that you are an inspiration. 

~Toni Armenta Andrukaitis

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Through all the painful hurdles, falling down, and  picking myself back up again, the one thing I am most proud of is my determination. When I set a goal for myself, I always complete it. 

My recent goal has been to keep up with my walking and exercise, even in this hot Texas weather. It’s way too easy to just give up and say it’s too dang hot. I’ve been going to kickboxing on Monday  and Friday, then Zumba  on Tuesday and Thursday at the YMCA. Wednesday is my non-Y day. The perfect opportunity to sleep late, but I can’t sleep anyway, so I set my alarm for 7 am. 

This morning was going to be a little cooler, so I was dressed and out the door by 7:15. I’ve added a little running to my walking routine. I walk a couple of blocks, then run around the pond, walk, then run, and keep going until I can’t go anymore. The last few times, I’ve managed four circuits, or about an hour. (Not bad for an old broad.)

  
But then, look at this beautiful view I have every day. 

There were several people out walking this morning, as opposed to the solitude on the scorching hot days. As I pass people walking their dog, or pushing a stroller, I always wave or say hi. 

Something pretty cool happened today. I was running around the pond, and I said, “Mornin'” to a young woman walking, all geared up with headphones, and a brisk gait. She replied the same with a smile and a wave. We continued in our opposite directions. About an hour later, as I ran past her with a slight wave for the fourth time, she took off her headphones as I passed, and said, “You are an inspiration!”

Wow!!! I said, “Why, thank you,” and continued my run around the pond, followed by my two block walk. Me, an inspiration to a neighbor? She must have seen me out on my daily walks before, and I was so honored that she took the time out to tell me that I inspired her. How cool is that? I actually got a little misty under my sunglasses.

Needless to say, I didn’t go home after my fourth loop around the neighborhood as usual. I continued to walk, then run a fifth lap around the pond, then walk back home to cool down. I was pumped.  After all, I AM AN INSPIRATION!

   
 

Saturday: Simple Silly Determination

If you try anything, if you try to lose weight, or to improve yourself, or to love, or to make the world a better place, you have already achieved something wonderful, before you even begin. Forget failure. If things don’t work out the way you want, hold your head up high and be proud. And try again. And again. And again!Sarah Dessen

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I’ve tried to do all of the above. Trying is the start, not giving up despite all the odds is the reward. I do hold my head up and try again. 

After I went for my short 1/4 mile run/joggle yesterday, I thought to myself… “Self, how far can you joggle today?” It was only about 84 degrees when I laced up my running shoes at. 8 am. My goal was to go as far as I could go before I felt queasy. I set my phone app to log my jog, or loggle my joggle, and proceeded. The streets were quiet, the sites were lovely, except for the dead armadillo by the sidewalk, (didn’t take that photo), the horses were grazing across the street, and I was determined. 

  
I went a lot further than I expected, around the pond, and down a few streets, and back to my door to get some water before a cool down walk. 

  
 1.28 miles, PDG… Pretty “darn” good for an old gal. Except … When I got to the house, tried to unlock the door with my key, it wasn’t opening right away. My ears started tingling and I got light headed. Uh oh! I felt faint. I went from rapid heart rate to a complete stop too quickly. Finally, the door opened, I grabbed some water, turned on the ceiling fan and plopped on the couch. I recovered in about ten minutes, drank more water, then went back out to walk the same route of 1.28 miles to cool down. 

Now, that’s determination. Either that, or just plain crazy. I’m thinking the latter. 

“Sometimes plain  ol’ crazy is the best inspiration.”

~Toni Armenta Andrukaitis

  
AND DON’T FORGET CRAZY!

Sunday Sermon and Seriously Underestimating Myself

“Never underestimate what you can accomplish when you believe in yourself. (Unknown)” 
― D.J. Stutley

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Today’s Gospel was the story of Jesus raising Lazarus from the dead after being in the tomb for four days. My take on it, short and sweet, if you have faith, if you believe, all things are possible.

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“Did I not tell you that if you believe 

you will see the glory of God?”
So they took away the stone.
And Jesus raised his eyes and said,
“Father, I thank you for hearing me.
I know that you always hear me; 
but because of the crowd here I have said this, 
that they may believe that you sent me.”
And when he had said this,
He cried out in a loud voice, 
“Lazarus, come out!”

The dead man came out,…

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It was a cloudy morning. Mom went to Mass with me this morning, a special blessing to have Mom visiting with me for a couple of weeks. I call it “double teaming.”  When she was back home in Chicago, I would call her every Sunday on my way to church, and say, “Pray for us sinners.” She would tell me, “You too.”  So, we double teamed all those sinners together this morning, so look out.

  

I went for an afternoon walk, and while I was walking, I thought, “Darn, I forgot AGAIN!” I had downloaded an app on my phone that would track my walking two weeks ago. I kept forgetting to set it up. People always ask, how far do you walk? I really don’t know. I say “I walk about an hour to an hour and a half in the morning, and about an hour in the evening.” I was never really curious or felt a need to track it, but after about the fiftieth time someone asked, I started to wonder myself. 

I estimated in my mind that an hour was maybe one or two miles, give or take. So, I figured that I walked maybe three or four miles a day. WELL!!!! Boy, did I underestimate myself. I set up the app when I walked this evening. The sun was out and it was a gorgeous night. After so many gloomy days, I was invigorated. My phone spoke to me after 15 minutes and told me I had walked a mile. What? By the time I finished my one hour, I was floored.

  

(I walked, not ran. Too old to run.)

I walked 1 hour and 6 minutes and walked 4.3 miles! I’ve been walking faithfully pretty much every single day for the past six months, usually twice a day. Of course, I missed 3 or 4 days during the ice storms, but still, that’s a lot of miles. Walking has always been my thing for years. I’ve been determined to walk every day, and also to write every day. I’ve always believed in myself, and if I make a promise, especially to myself, I keep it.

“Never underestimate what you can accomplish when you believe in yourself. (Unknown)” 
― D.J. Stutley

  

Wednesday Words of Wisdom: Don’t Take No For an Answer

“Men are creatures of invention and are usually determined not to accept no for an answer.”
― Mario Stinger, Destined for Oblivion: As Nature Intended
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Determined to have a fulfilling day, I started out with a brisk walk, a nice breakfast, and back upstairs to unpack and tackle more bins and boxes. I worked until I dropped. Of course, I barely scratched the surface, but I could see a little progress…very little.

Later in the day, I decided that I was going to haul two heavy night stands from upstairs, down 17 steps. When I tried to lift one, I couldn’t budge it. Now what? I thought about those slider thingies, as seen on tv, but that wouldn’t work going down the stairs. Think! Hmmm? What can I use? Light bulb moment.

What is slippery and large enough to fit under the night stand? I looked around and saw a bunch of plastic lids from the dozens of bins strewn about. Voila! It worked perfectly. I ooched the night stand onto the lid and slid it to the edge of the stairs and kerplunked it down 17 steps, and across the hall, through the bedroom and into the closet. Finally, I gathered all my Herculean strength, gave out a big grunt, and put one stand on top of the other.

I did it!!! I didn’t take no for an answer, I didn’t give up, and I didn’t have to ask for help. Don’t get me wrong. Sometimes I break down and ask for help, but not until I try and get ‘er done all by myself.

I am a creature of invention. Or is it just called stubborn?

And guess what? When I started putting things into the empty drawers, look what I found! A little white feather! Yep!

Friday: 502 Days and Counting

“Desire is the key to motivation, but it’s determination and commitment to an unrelenting pursuit of your goal – a commitment to excellence – that will enable you to attain the success you seek.”
― Mario Andretti
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When I started writing this blog on January 1, 2013, my lofty goal was to try and find something to write about for 365 consecutive days. I wasn’t sure at first if it was possible, but I knew when I put my mind to do something, anything, by golly, I do it.

So, as the year flew by, and the original challenge became a rewarding ritual, I found that I needed to write every day. I was determined to find something profound, funny, sad, or informative to share. It made each day an adventure and worth living, from the wonderful sunny days, down to those dark, devastating, I want to stay curled up in my bed and cry days. I’ve had them all and shared them all with you, my friends, family and strangers.

So now, 502 days and 16,682 views later, I am as exhilarated and motivated as I was that first day. WOW! That’s amazing! Thank you all SO MUCH for all the kind responses, likes, and views. Mr. Andretti was right. I have achieved success.